court

The Supreme Court has ruled that merely offering to give someone else explicit images of children is illegal, even if the pictures or videos don't actually exist. The ruling applies to all means of communication, but obviously most cases today ... involve the Internet. The specific case in question involved the crime of "pandering" images of children, defined as promoting material (real or 'purported') in a way designed to convince people that it is explicit. In this case, a Florida man named Michael Williams had been arrested after using an Internet chat room and offering to trade nude pictures ... (view more)

From what I've learned about the legal profession -- as it has been derived from Law and Order repeats and My Cousin Vinny -- being held in contempt of court is not a good thing. It generally means you've done something particularly heinous to upset ... a judge, like having your cell phone go off during proceedings. That sure would irk a judge -- especially if it was his own phone. British judge Charles Byers was in mid-session this past week when -- to his chagrin -- a cell phone blurted its cacophony of rings and twings mid-session. As mentioned, in many cases this can completely bring a court ... (view more)

Rockstar Games have failed in yet another bid to get the controversial Manhunt 2 video game on British shelves. A High Court judge has ruled that the game must go back to an appeals committee for a fresh evaluation. The game was first banned in the ... United Kingdom last June when the British Board of Film Classifications (BBFC), which gives movie-style age ratings to video games, refused to give it a rating. This meant it could not legally be sold, the first such ban in 10 years. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) At the time, the BBFC's director said the game's focus on violent killings was too strong. " ... (view more)

Amazon.com's French subsidiary has recently lost a court case concerning its practice of providing free shipping on book deliveries inside France on orders worth more than 20 euros. A lower court has ruled that the company is in violation of French ... law and has ordered Amazon.fr to cease this practice . The lawsuit brought on by the French Booksellers' Union last December requires the company to pay damages amounting to 100,000 euros as well as imposing a fine of 1,000 euros per day until it has fixed its illegal practice of providing free shipping to its customers. (Source: dailytech.com ) ... (view more)

On behalf of all Florida residents, Frederick Black recently filed charges against media mogul Apple, Inc for monopolizing the digital video and music industry. The three formal counts charged against the organization include violation of Florida ... Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act, attempted monopolization in violation of the Florida Antitrust Act, and monopolization in violation of the Florida Antitrust Act. While the media has focused mainly on the company's recent release of the much lauded iPhone and unprecedented stock growth, this suit serves as a bitter reality check. Three hotels ... (view more)

In a ruling that's expected to have far-reaching implications, the European Union (EU) Court of First Instance upheld European Commission claims that Microsoft abused their dominant position in the operating system (OS) market, siding with ... regulators in an antitrust case. The law suit began in early 2004. (Source: CNET News ) "The court ruling is welcome for its confirmation of the Commission's decision and its underlying policy, but nevertheless, it is bittersweet, because the court has confirmed the Commission's view that consumers are suffering at the hands of Microsoft" said Neelie Kroes ... (view more)

On September 17, the European Court of First Instance will present its verdict in Microsoft Corporation's antitrus appeal. The appeal, which has taken more than three years to render an outcome, relates to Microsoft's mistreatment of its ... competitors. "By bundling Windows Media Player, its audio and video playing software, into Windows, Microsoft competed unfairly against rivals such as Real Networks Inc. and Apple Inc., the Commission ruled. And by failing to share technical information about how to interoperate with Windows PCs, Microsoft managed to steal a march in the market for low-end ... (view more)

These days, lawsuits are as common as windy weather in Chicago. But Luxpro has taken the art of suing one step further: the company has sued Apple as a result of Apple's former suit against Luxpro, claiming that Apple's lawsuit cost Luxpro lost ... sales. While the $100 million lawsuit is hefty enough to be noteworthy, another aspect makes this suit unique. The companies have already met in court in 2005 -- except at that time, the two parties were on opposite sides of the courtroom, with Apple as the plaintiff and Luxpro as the defendant. Apple had sued Luxpro for infringing on its iPod Shuffle ... (view more)

Quite a few users contacted me over the weekend after reading last Saturday's article regarding 321 Studios and DVD X Copy. I have decided to follow up this discussion with some Q & A. Side note: To recap -- on February 20th, "a federal court ... ruled that 321 Studios must stop making software that allows users to copy DVDs ... [The] St. Louis-based [company] said it would appeal the ruling ... which has barred 321 from selling its DVD copying software [by February 27th, 2004]. " (Source: Reuters.com ). Infopackets Reader Rafael C. asks: " Regarding your February 21st news ... (view more)

Are DVD backups illega l? On February 20th, "a federal court has ruled that 321 Studios must stop making software that allows users to copy DVDs ... [The] St. Louis-based [company] said it would appeal the ruling by Judge Susan Illston of U.S. ... District Court in San Francisco ... [The court] has barred 321 from selling its DVD copying software within one week [ending February 27th, 2004]. " (Source: Reuters.com ). Despite the ruling, "321 stands firm ... to fight the Hollywood Studios in their effort to take away our customers' digital rights,' said Robert Moore, Founder and ... (view more)